Increase of Metal Accumulation in Plants Grown on Biochar – Biochar Ecotoxicity for Germinating Seeds.

Soudek P., Petrová Š., Vaněk T.
INTERNAL JOURNAL of ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND DEVELOPMENT 6 [7]: 508-511, 2015

Keywords: Biochar, heavy metals, seeds germination, sorghum
Abstract: The effect of toxic metals on seed germination was studied in 3 cultivars of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.). Toxicity of cadmium, copper, and lead at five different concentrations (0.05–5 mM) was tested by standard ecotoxicity test. Three different biochars as supplement was used for the test. Root length was measured after 72 h of incubation. Elongation inhibition and EC50 value were calculated. The results showed that beech tree biochar was the most efficient to reduce the toxicity of tested heavy metal. It contained the highest PAHs content, lowest content of measured heavy metals and the lowest pH value from tested biochars.
DOI:
Fulltext: contact IEB authors
IEB authors: Šárka Petrová, Petr Soudek, Tomáš Vaněk